Ten Surprising Facts about the Homeless in the US

Ten Surprising Facts about the Homeless in the US
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Soup Line – Newark, New Jersey – 2007
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Today we take a break from our usual comments on the economy and
markets. We are seeing a lot of mixed signals in the data about the
state and direction of the US economy, but there is one area of the US
economy where the data are unambiguous: homelessness and hunger.

Below we list ten surprising facts about homelessness from the results
of the most recent U.S. Conference of Mayors/Sodexho Survey on Hunger
and Homelessness (pdf), a survey of America's 24 largest cities.

You might assume that mental illness is the number one cause of
homelessness, that few homeless seeking food assistance are employed,
and that most seeking food assistance are individuals and not
families. You might assume that a nation that spends 21 billion
dollars a month on a war in Iraq spends more than $420 million per
year to assist its homeless, 11 percent of whom are veterans, so that
few if any homeless requesting assistance are turned away. And you
might think, with all the news you read about the strong and growing
US economy, that homelessness is declining.

But you'd be wrong.

Ten Surprising Facts about Homelessness in the US

1) Homeless People

It is estimated that persons considered mentally ill account for 22
percent of the homeless population in the survey cities; substance
abusers account for 30 percent. Fifteen percent of the homeless in the
survey cities are employed in full-or part-time jobs. Eleven percent
are veterans.

2) Causes of Homelessness

Listed in order of frequency: lack of affordable housing, low paying
jobs, mental illness and the lack of needed services, substance abuse
and the lack of needed services, domestic violence, unemployment,
poverty, and prisoner re-entry.

3) Length of Time People Are Homeless

People remain homeless for an average of 7 months in the survey
cities. The average length of time people remain homeless is 24 months
in Phoenix, 18 months in Louisville, 14 months in Boston, 12 months in
Detroit. Eighty-seven percent of the cities report that the length of
time people are homeless increased. Thirteen percent report a decrease.

4) People Requesting Food Assistance

Officials in the survey cities reported that 40 percent of adults
requesting emergency food assistance were employed. Across the survey
cities it is estimated that 54 percent of those requesting emergency
food assistance were either children or their parents.

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5) Emergency Shelter Requests

Seventy-one percent of the survey cities report an increase in request
for emergency shelter during the last year. Across the survey cities,
the average increase was 6 percent. The increases ranged from 30
percent in Los Angeles, 28 percent in Trenton, 22 percent in Detroit,
and 18 percent in Miami.

6) Emergency Shelter Requests by Families

Requests for emergency shelter by homeless families with children
increased in 63 percent of the survey cities during the last year.
Across the survey cities, the average increase in requests for
emergency shelter by homeless families with children was 5 percent.

7) Requests for Assisted Housing by Low-Income Families and Individuals

During the last year, requests for housing by low-income families and
individuals increased in 86 percent of the survey cities.

8) People Turned Away From Emergency Shelter

In 88 percent of the survey cities, emergency shelters may have turned
away homeless families due to a lack of resources.

9) Forecast of Requests for Emergency Shelter during 2006

Ninety-three percent of the survey cities expect that requests for
emergency shelter to increase in 2006. Ninety-five percent of the
survey cities expect that requests for shelter by families to increase
in 2006.

10) Requests for Emergency Food Assistance for 2006

Ninety percent of the survey cities expect that their requests for
emergency food assistance will increase in 2006. During 2006 requests
for emergency food assistance by families with children are expected
to increase in 86 percent of the survey cities.

This report came out a year before the Center for Responsible Lending
projected millions of homes may go into foreclosure over the next few
years, as "2.2 million mortgage loans with a value of $164B to
eventually fail."

While we worry about the stock market, bond yields, and the price of
commodities, it's important to remind ourselves occasionally that
while economic mismanagement may cause many of us to lose money,
millions of our fellow citizens stand to lose a lot more than that.